Artwork

My grandfather fought in WWII and I make silly animations, artwork and games/apps. It’s embarrassing but that’s how it goes…– Me

Super POTUS Trump is a “mini” indie video game I made as a tribute to President Trump. It’s currently available now for Windows on Steam and soon should be available for iPad as well (pending Apple review).

Game Development

While I describe the game as “mini” the effort it took to produce it was quite the opposite. At face value the game may not seem like a very big project since a person with average gaming/computer skills could play through the entire thing within 45 minutes (or less). But the making of this game was, by FAR, the biggest, most exhausting personal/hobby project I’ve ever undertaken. Not only was it my first time building a game with the (awesome) unity3d.org game engine – it also involved a ton of iPad artwork production, C# coding, audio hunting/editing, learning an entirely new game store workflow (SteamWorks, on top of Apple) and just about every social media/web skill I could muster as well. For the past ~6 months this project was pretty much a black hole that sucked up every free minute I could find. While it was a lot of work it was, for the most part, a ton of fun. I do have to admit that towards the end I started wondering if I would ever finish it, questioning why in the world I was making it and wondered the odds that anyone else would even care or enjoy, etc. Fortunately I didn’t give up, called it “done” about a week ago and since then it’s been release for Windows and sent to Apple for review. I have to say it was hard to call it “done” as there were so many ideas I had that I just had to leave out otherwise I’d never finish it! I told myself *IF* I lived through it and if more than 12 people enjoy this version I *MIGHT* consider making an Episode 2 (since a lot of the coding/etc would already be done). But I can’t even think about that right now!! …

Few Development-Related Images

Initial Feedback

Given how greuling things got near the end I have to say comments/reviews like this sure are great to read:

This is just art. Not a game but a piece of art. 10/10 would play again.– Razor_One (Steam)

And this one just nails it too – we won’t hold it against him that he didn’t vote for Trump 🙂 :

No, I didn’t vote for Trump (and god no I didn’t vote for Hillary), but I love you none-the-less for making this! Your passion and inspiration shows. You should feel proud of your accomplishment! (Also love the Russian theme thrown in. The part Russian in me adores it!) …– Shrodu (Steam)

There have been a few naysayers but thanks to how Steam works you can’t leave a negative review unless you’ve installed the game so hopefully that means not very many haters will bother spamming the reviews – which as of today are holding mostly in the Positive category.

Soap Box

In case it’s not obvious I did not make this game to get warm fuzzies reading positive reviews or to rake in the few dollars it hopefully makes to at least make small dent in the the few hundred I sank into making it. I made this game as my tribute to President Trump and to show the world (or maybe just 23 people) that Trump’s support is strong and made up of rationale, talented people whose bond with the man can not be shaken. With the non-stop onslaught of self-righteousness, condescension and vicious calls for violence coming from the news media, Hollywood, college cry-babies and all the other far-lefties in between I felt I simply had no choice but to make this game.

I am well aware this is just a small silly game and I don’t imagine it will get that much attention – outside a few fellow indie gamer fans and friends/family I’m sure the install base will be pretty small. But knowing that even just a few people will see it – whether they’re pro-Trump or not – it will have been worth it.

Thanks to everyone who tries it out! … and thank you, President Trump!

Additional Screens/Media

Video/Gameplay?

I realize some friends/family may not be able to play the game so at some point I may create a video showing a little bit of each level of the game so people can see it that way. In the meantime if you can stomach random people on YouTube I’ve started collecting videos about the game made by other, random people on YouTube – most of them include gameplay video of some level. Here’s that playlist if you want to see video gameplay sooner vs later.

I saw a few photos of Trump in the Oval Office with his team recently (example) and got an itch to spend 2 hours this evening cleaning it up and messing around with it (just for fun). I took the liberty of adding Gavin and Milo in one iteration … just because. Note – I didn’t have the time/patience to get all the merged “faces” perfect so some of them look a bit off … but I like the final product so that’s all that matters :).

Merged/Cleaned up

Combination of few photos for best face/positioning but keeping original scene as is

A New Southpark Holly Animation!

I usually make Holly some kind of separate Christmas card instead of the illustrated one I send out to my (short) list of friends … mainly because I don’t like her getting the same thing everyone else does. Anyhow – I normally don’t have a ton of time to make something big for this but this year I started early (month or two ago) and spent (a lot of) time here and there to create not only a card but a new “Southpark Holly” animation to go along with it. At a running time of over 3:00 minutes it’s the longest Southpark Holly animation I’ve done – but it still just feels like a teaser trailer for a movie I wish I had the time to do. Like in the past I made the animation using “Adobe Flash” (now called “Adobe Animate”). But since “Flash” is mostly dead for most people’s phones, tablets and web browsers I exported it to an HD video. Here it is … enjoy! Tip: Make sure to go fullscreen, click the HD button and turn up your sound before starting it!

First I have to apologize that this doesn’t look very much like the person it’s supposed to be. I’m not a classical illustrator who can crank out spitting image likenesses of people easily. Sometimes I can brute force my way to something close with enough hacking at it – but not my usual forte.

… But my lack of skills aside, this illustration is my humble homage to the legendary, Gavin McInnes.

I could write paragraphs on the genius, accomplishments and hilarity of this man. But since I don’t have that kind of time I have to unfairly, brutishly sum him up in ugly bullet points:

Do NOT let your young kids watch him (he sometimes says things that make Howard Stern look like a blushing introvert!)

Like Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin is originally from another country (Canada) but lives in the US now and fights for America’s future by pushing back against social and political nonsense (normally coming from the regressive left). In my opinion he is brilliant, hillarious and a true American hero and I “like him more than a friend.”

I’m proud of your boy, Gavin.

Artwork

Original Sketch:

Color Version:

Inspiration for sketch:A bit he does on his CompoundMedia.com show where he talks about books while he cooks by the fire … cracks me up every time.

Here’s yet another Trump artwork post. Really it’s just something that accumulated over time from my own desire to get some cool Trump backgrounds on my iPhone. Half of these are using altered or stylized Trump photos we’ve all seen floating around the web and the rest are existing artwork of mine. The photo of him sitting down and pointing I could only find in black and white so the color versions are my attempt at colorization (I think the colors look right?). Also these wallpapers are all best used on the iPhone “lockscreen” – not really for the “homescreen” (behind the icons). Maybe if I get time/ideas I’ll add some homescreen ones in the future.

Trump iPhone Wallpapers

Click/tap the thumbnails to preview a wallpaper and click/tap the phone itself to download the full-size version of the selected wallpaper.

I don’t know if there is some huge collection of Trump iPhone wallpapers on the internet already but if anyone has or finds some other cool ones please let me know and I’ll add it above (if it’s high quality enough of course!) – I’m sure there are some good ones out there somewhere!

Apparently I get #Trump graphic ideas often – here’s another one. I originally just wanted to put Trump alongside a couple old paintings of Washington and Lincoln but in the end I thought I’d also compare some of the negative things people said about each of them.

Background

This may be a weird one but this is another idea that popped into my head that I had to just get out of my system. As usual I went a tad overboard but I guess that’s what I do.

First of all, I am well aware that the opinion of a celebrity doesn’t matter ANY more than the average citizen’s as we all have the same capacity to discern (or ignore) the facts in front of us. However, since celebrities are given so much media attention, their opinions do have some influence on the public. So for this reason, and my own political and nerdy curiousity I’ve put together a graphical record of who is on which side of the upcoming, historic vote for the next president of the U.S. But again … while I would love to hear debates between Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood or Tony Bennett and James Woods on why they support different candidates this election, the bottom line is that their celebrity status doesn’t make their presidential endorsements any more significant than mine or any other American citizen’s.

Before stating the obvious that the Trump-supporting group is visibly smaller that the Hillary-supporting group, keep in mind that in the current political and cultural climate in America it is FAR easier and more “culturally-acceptable” to support Hillary (because you know “RACISTS! SEXIST!” yadda yadda). Sadly what’s worse, showing support for Trump can have a very negative impact on a celebrity’s career (example). Given these facts, each person on the Trump side here has (IMHO) 10 times the guts of anyone supporting Hillary and they have my sincere thanks and respect.

On the topic of support numbers I think the following two quotes are quite fitting:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”– Mark Twain

“It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”– Samuel Adams

Graphics

Final Thoughts

Even though I know Hollywood skews to the left I have to admit it is painful to see some of my favorite actors being so aggresively outspoken on this election given the fact that this isn’t “just another left vs right election” and that the stakes are so high. It’s going to take some time for me to watch any of them in a movie anytime soon – especially after watching stuff like this ridiculous celebrity-stuffed anti-Trump ad:

Fortunately, some brilliant folks made a rebuttal video that at least helped me take the edge off a bit after watching the above:

In any case … that’s all for now. I just wanted to create a visual document showing who was on which side of the election … for whichever way it goes.

Few disclaimers on graphics:

Both lists here are likely far from complete. I’m sure there are plenty of musicians, actors and other celebrities not represented here who consider themselves on one side or the other. These lists, however, are just pulled from links like this that outline celebrities who have been outspoken about their political leaning this election.

To keep the list more “celebrity” focused I left out people from news organization, nightly “talk shows” and the world of politics.

If anyone notices any major names missing, or if anyone changes sides between now and the election let me know and maybe I’ll update the graphics. But being ~3 weeks out now I don’t think much of that will happen.

Movie Poster

Here’s a poster graphic I couldn’t resist whipping up for #LesDéplorables. I originally had Barack Hussein Obama as the police man in the background but he was ruining the mood and I just couldn’t stand looking at him – plus I thought Sheriff Joe would be a better fit anyhow – assuming everyone understands he’s one of the good guys (in the film that character is not).

My Version!

Original Movie Poster

Alternate Versions

I couldn’t resist so I made a couple alternate versions to use as a desktop wallpaper and banner on Twitter, etc. I also included a few lines from “The People’s Song” (from Les Miserables) since they are also so fitting!

Desktop Wallpaper

Banner

Rally Intro Video

In case anyone didn’t see it, here’s Trump walking out to the tune of Les Miserables at one of his recent rallies … epic.

This one may seem a bit out of left field but a week or so ago I got an itch to put up a wall of people I consider heroes in my time along with links to their various social network links, podcasts, videos etc. I may or may not expand the list in the future as time permits but I’m going ahead and publishing it now with the first 9 people otherwise I would never release it. I’m sure none of the people on this list will ever know about this site and honestly no one else besides me may even know the page exists … but that’s enough for me. The site should generally work ok on PC, tablet or phone but there may be quirks I have to iron out over time.

Feel free to chime in if you have suggestions on people I might add, violent reactions you have to anyone on this current list etc. Here’s the link:

Sample Screenshot

Thoughts on Trump

Why would a billionaire take an extended leave from his very comfortable life and empire of successful businesses to run for the US presidency? Ego? Rich man’s guilt? Some other conspiracy? And which of these or other reasons would make it remotely worth his while to go from being a world-renown businessman and celebrity to being thrashed in the news every other week being called idiot, a bigot, a joke … even a Hitler? Continue reading →

You know I think I have some weird obsession with the moon. If you go to the main page of my blog right now 4 of the pictures there have a giant, full moon in them. Weird.

Anyhow … a few weeks ago I got the urge to paint a window scene of some kind. Here’s the final result after kicking it around for a few minutes every couple days.

The most fun I had with this was doing the curtains and the wallpaper. Neither of them are amazing or anything but something about making them was fun and a bit outside my usual techniques. The thing I feel most bad about is the small picture frame to the right center. I wish I could have found a way to shine more light over there because that little picture was fun … but since it’s so dark over there you really can’t see/appreciate it. I also I really wanted to introduce some kind of animal or character in there but I think it would have been too crowded so I resisted … maybe next time.As usual I used Procreate on the iPad to make this.

Ever since I created my Wooden Clock for iPad app I wanted to update it to have the option of letting users pick from an assortment of different clock types for some variety once in a while. Well after over 2 years and many early weekend mornings I finally got around to doing that and the update just went live in the App Store.

The new skin – the first of hopefully more to come in the future – is the “Tibet” clock. I’ve been fond of Tibet for quite some time … probably in large part due to the film “Seven Years in Tibet” and my eternal fascination with Mount Everest – so I figured that theme would be as good as any to start out with.

The App Store database isn’t entirely updated yet so here’s the details of the new version in case it doesn’t appear in the App Store yet:

A brand-new clock has been added … the “Tibet” clock!

The new Tibet clock was hand-carved, assembled and painted in the majestic foothills of Mount Everest near the city of Lhasa. Ok … actually it was all done in Photoshop and a text editor in a dark office .. but that’s almost as inspiring right?! In any case I hope everyone enjoys the new clock!

First – in standard fashion I have to insert a disclaimer here that while I am calling this the new “Tibet” clock, I in no way am implying that I am capable of producing authentic, Tibetan artwork nor is the clock I’ve constructed anything anyone who actually lives in Tibet would recognize or find attractive at all. This is simply my humble attempt at creating a visual homage to Tibet … as well as a geek from the US suburbs is capable of anyway.

I did do some research on Tibetan furniture and artwork before starting. As one might imagine a large part of Tibetan culture and artwork is based on the Buddhist religion – but for various reasons I steered clear of that route and went with a more general, flowery and colorful approach instead. But even with that generic approach, I do hope the final product gives that classic Tibetan vibe … the bright yellows and reds against a bright blue (mountain) sky. On a technical note – the flowers and leaves on the clock were painted with the Procreate app on my iPad and the rest of the clock was created using Photoshop.

While I was packaging things up I went ahead and updated the app icon a bit too. I’m not in love w/the new version but like it much more than the last one I used.

New Icon

Old Icon

The update with the new Tibet clock went live on the App Store today so users will get it the next time they update. If anyone has ideas or suggestions on new clocks I could add in the future swing by the Facebook page and post it!

Oh yeah – here’s the short app preview in included in this update – it shows the new clock in action!

Ok so the silly graphic I made for this post is not entirely accurate. Adobe Flash did not die … but for all intents and purposes it did back in 2010 when Steve Jobs wrote his infamous letter about it. While Adobe made some smart moves since then to stay in the game it definitely was somewhat forced to move on from being the primary, most popular platform for creating slick animation and interactive experiences on the web.

While I do enjoy the new frontiers of design and development my job and hobbies involve that, sadly, have little to nothing to do with Flash, I have to say it’s a lot more work to produce stuff as shiny and fun w/the new, non-Flash tools we use today. That may just be a reflection of my skill/experience levels not being what they should be … but I also think it’s just a fact that nothing has come around yet that allows designers and animators the ability to create stuff as quickly, as creative and as polished than Adobe Flash did.

Much of my early career invovled a lot of Flash work but as the years go by it becomes harder to keep track of them – let alone keep them online somewhere where eveyone can still access them since no Apple phones/tablets can view them anymore.

Anyhow … I know this whole topic is years old but recently I decided I would create some screencast movies of some of them for safe(r) keeping and to provide a more convenient way to share them w/a world that has for the most part moved on from the “Flash Plugin” days. Anyhow … see below for the Flash things I’ve archived so far. I may/may not add to the list. If you’re bored feel free to play one or two of the below … make sure to click the HD and fullscreen buttons! 🙂

The printed cards have finally shipped out so it’s probably safe to share the digital version now. Head over to http://cards.chris-emerson.com for more detail about this year’s card, related sketches and artwork and a really cool time-lapse video.

As always – if you usually get a paper version in the mail and haven’t gotten one yet feel free to wait for that before checking out the online version. And to those who didn’t get a paper version please know it’s only because I either forgot, ran out of time/materials or simply don’t like you anymore … but usually not the latter. 🙂